Recently, there was a controversial topic of this 21 years old girl, who entered the Kpop Search, made a comment of her not proud to be a Singaporean. Which of course made a lot of people unhappy with her attitude. She then decided to make a vlog to justify her idealism.
She made several points that I actually agree with her. Of course, not totally.
She said that Singapore has no creative talents. But she did not specifically mentioned talents in showbiz. I agree. Singapore has no such showbiz material talents around. I do see people trying to rebut by saying famous singers from Singapore such Stefanie Sun, Tanya Chua, Kit Chan. But it has been so many years and Singapore can only manage to produce a few talents. Even star search programmes in Mediacorp, the programme that captured many Singaporeans attention was the Superstar. It actually has many singer talents such as Kelly Poon and Kelvin Tan. And they had many supporters during the time of the competition. However, after they emerged victorious, the light of fame just extinguished immediately. The albums they subsequently released did not managed to garner a lot of support at all.
So what is the difference of Kelly Poon and Stefanie Sun? One reason is the latter had support in Taiwan before she actually became famous in Singapore, while Kelly is solely made in Singapore. And the harsh truth is Singaporeans do not really support Singaporean Singers. And that is why I totally agree, if a Singaporean wants to be a singer, better venture outside.
I totally can feel the struggle when I was finding game company to enter. Because the market in Singapore is so bloody small. And many game makers in Singapore are really struggling to raise. Seriously, in this kind of creative industries, it is really better to venture outside Singapore. The country is still too young to support creative industry. I guess the government decided to focus on Math and Science, which probably is the best for this is small island to develop first.
Several rebuts followed to talk about Sports school and Arts school that emerged in the country a few years ago. However, these schools are still not enough to produce sports or creative talents at the current stage. But I would say that the country is slowly making its way, and I really hope more of these schools will emerge and eventually make a new name for Singapore.
Another point the young kid mentioned was Singaporeans are not happy people. Yes, I agree to that too.
Singaporeans are essentially keep complaining about their life, their jobs, the public transport... Haha. After visiting countries like Taiwan and Japan, I surely think something wrong with Singapore service industry. Because 19 out of 20 shops I have patronized just pissed me off. The attitude of the aunties, the foreign workers really can't deliver a good service. When they were busy serving many people, their mood will be greatly affected, and their tone will start to get a bit agitated. Perhaps they are just trying not to be hypocrite, and just want to be themselves. I do believe some Japanese and Taiwanese might be hypocritical, but they still made my day. I seriously think Singapore should consider giving free training to newbie who wants to be cashier or waiter. Giving a bright service to a customer might be able to keep them patronizing, but once a bad service is offered, you will be forever blacklisted.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
New Year at Hokkaido
2013 was a blast.
January - Took a cruise to Phuket.
June - JENESYS2.0 Japan Trip
June - Taiwan Graduation Trip
September - Japan Vacation Trip
December - Another Japan Vacation Trip.
It is my second time experience with snowfall in foreign country.
And the third time to Japan in a single year.
For a person who have never been to a foreign country for a proper vacation on a proper commercialized plane, I really went all out to go out of the country as many as possible. So much of complaining as a poor kid heh.
The previous snow experience was in Shandong, China. It was 2005, the JC Exchange Trip with the students in Shandong High School. It was a really unforgettable moment of my life. I remember that the locals over there said that the snowfall that time was one of the heaviest since 40 years. However, after been to Hokkaido, the snowfall was really not comparable. The one in Hokkaido is really thick and deep snow everywhere. And I could really just literally do a snow spa.
I could really make a large snowman! It was really fun. But while snow-noobies like us were enjoying the snow, most Japanese really prefer hide themselves in the shelter. The snow city in Sapporo is truly amazing sight. Just by looking at it, you will feel so calm and peaceful.
The other purpose of this trip is basically a foodhunt. To hunt down the more famous food you can find in Hokkaido. The butter corn ramen, the Hokkaido milk ramen, the various seafood sushi and especially in winter, the snow crab! Too bad I'm not a fan of seafood, but most of the food found over there is still as nice as all the Japanese food you can find in Singapore.
We visited both the bustling city of Sapporo and the quiet small town in Biei. The town is so small and the people are so friendly. Is totally like a typical town setting in some RPG that you can explore by walking around. However, due to the heavy snowfall, it was advised to stay indoor. We took a bus ride to the neighbouring area of Biei, Shirogane. We stayed one night in the Onsen Inn. It is my first time staying in Japanese Traditional Style Hotel. The room was really typically Japanese. Futon, Tatami, Sliding Doors, etc... It was so cosy. The Futon (Japanese Style Floor Mattress) was unexpectedly comfortable and warm. I could just go into my dreamland immediately. So comfy~
We went back the Kyoto to get a feel of the Japanese New Year... and it was so so so so chaotic!!! The night of new year's eve, there are already so many people crowding outside the various shrine and temple! 30 mins before 12am. A huge batch of police has to be deployed to seal off parts of the road so that people can make their way to their destinations to pray for their new year resolution.
In the end, we could not really have the feel of the real atmosphere of the Japanese New Year at that exact moment. We leave it till the next morning. Surprisingly, it seemed like the queue has not been stopping everywhere. In every shrine or temple you see in Kyoto, there was a literal long queue. No joking.
The last 2 days in Kyoto was to continue the food hunt. Cliff wanted to hunt for the legendary looking Omu Rice. Ever since I shared with him the video I found, he decided to look for the shop. When we finally found the shop, it was rather a small shop. And could only have only 8 people at a time. It was a bar and open kitchen and customers can gladly chat with the chef and the bartender. It was a really great concept. The service was great. However, due to the location of the place. It was located along the street of high class and pricey bar and restaurants. Hence, the food there was damn expensive. But trust me. The food really comes with a justifiable price. It was a heavenly food. Kichikichi. Look for this name.
So that was my third time in Japan in just 6 months! I was damn amazed with myself. Japan, really a pleasant country to visit for holiday. It is the culture I like to be in. The culturely good service in every shops and eateries just brightened up your day. You definitely can't find that in Singapore in every corner. While you may find good services in some small shops, still cannot beat Japan. Really just want to visit Japan every year...
January - Took a cruise to Phuket.
June - JENESYS2.0 Japan Trip
June - Taiwan Graduation Trip
September - Japan Vacation Trip
December - Another Japan Vacation Trip.
It is my second time experience with snowfall in foreign country.
And the third time to Japan in a single year.
For a person who have never been to a foreign country for a proper vacation on a proper commercialized plane, I really went all out to go out of the country as many as possible. So much of complaining as a poor kid heh.
The previous snow experience was in Shandong, China. It was 2005, the JC Exchange Trip with the students in Shandong High School. It was a really unforgettable moment of my life. I remember that the locals over there said that the snowfall that time was one of the heaviest since 40 years. However, after been to Hokkaido, the snowfall was really not comparable. The one in Hokkaido is really thick and deep snow everywhere. And I could really just literally do a snow spa.
I could really make a large snowman! It was really fun. But while snow-noobies like us were enjoying the snow, most Japanese really prefer hide themselves in the shelter. The snow city in Sapporo is truly amazing sight. Just by looking at it, you will feel so calm and peaceful.
The other purpose of this trip is basically a foodhunt. To hunt down the more famous food you can find in Hokkaido. The butter corn ramen, the Hokkaido milk ramen, the various seafood sushi and especially in winter, the snow crab! Too bad I'm not a fan of seafood, but most of the food found over there is still as nice as all the Japanese food you can find in Singapore.
We visited both the bustling city of Sapporo and the quiet small town in Biei. The town is so small and the people are so friendly. Is totally like a typical town setting in some RPG that you can explore by walking around. However, due to the heavy snowfall, it was advised to stay indoor. We took a bus ride to the neighbouring area of Biei, Shirogane. We stayed one night in the Onsen Inn. It is my first time staying in Japanese Traditional Style Hotel. The room was really typically Japanese. Futon, Tatami, Sliding Doors, etc... It was so cosy. The Futon (Japanese Style Floor Mattress) was unexpectedly comfortable and warm. I could just go into my dreamland immediately. So comfy~
We went back the Kyoto to get a feel of the Japanese New Year... and it was so so so so chaotic!!! The night of new year's eve, there are already so many people crowding outside the various shrine and temple! 30 mins before 12am. A huge batch of police has to be deployed to seal off parts of the road so that people can make their way to their destinations to pray for their new year resolution.
In the end, we could not really have the feel of the real atmosphere of the Japanese New Year at that exact moment. We leave it till the next morning. Surprisingly, it seemed like the queue has not been stopping everywhere. In every shrine or temple you see in Kyoto, there was a literal long queue. No joking.
The last 2 days in Kyoto was to continue the food hunt. Cliff wanted to hunt for the legendary looking Omu Rice. Ever since I shared with him the video I found, he decided to look for the shop. When we finally found the shop, it was rather a small shop. And could only have only 8 people at a time. It was a bar and open kitchen and customers can gladly chat with the chef and the bartender. It was a really great concept. The service was great. However, due to the location of the place. It was located along the street of high class and pricey bar and restaurants. Hence, the food there was damn expensive. But trust me. The food really comes with a justifiable price. It was a heavenly food. Kichikichi. Look for this name.
So that was my third time in Japan in just 6 months! I was damn amazed with myself. Japan, really a pleasant country to visit for holiday. It is the culture I like to be in. The culturely good service in every shops and eateries just brightened up your day. You definitely can't find that in Singapore in every corner. While you may find good services in some small shops, still cannot beat Japan. Really just want to visit Japan every year...
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